kingpin

[ king-pin ]

/ ˈkɪŋˌpɪn /

Bowling.

Informal. the person of chief importance in a corporation, movement, undertaking, etc.

Informal. the chief element of any system, plan, or the like.

a kingbolt.

either of the pins that are a part of the mechanism for turning the front wheels in some automotive steering systems.

Origin of kingpin

First recorded in 1795–1805; king + pin

Albert Grossman was only 31 at the time, but already a kingpin in folk.

Fact Vs. Fiction in ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’: The Real Story of Folk is Far Less Dejected Than the Movie |Jimmy So |December 4, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
This arrest shows the Peña Nieto administration is at least intent on continuing the kingpin strategy.

Miguel Angel Trevino Morales’s Legacy on Mexico’s Drug War |Scott C. Johnson |July 17, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
But there's another day, and the kingpin and I may yet lock horns.

Our Young Aeroplane Scouts in Germany |Horace Porter
You are to be a kingpin witness in my case against two pickpockets.

The Arrow of Fire |Roy J. Snell

The kingpin of the whole structure erected above the deck of a yacht is the bobstay.

On Yachts and Yacht Handling |Thomas Fleming Day
On every block he met acquaintances who had even toasted him—with his own wine; toasted him as the kingpin.

Garrison's Finish |W. B. M. Ferguson
I just went out and sent that whole moving picture outfit reeling, Kingpin and all!

The Shriek |Charles Somerville

kingpin

/ (ˈkɪŋˌpɪn) /

the most important person in an organization

the crucial or most important feature of a theory, argument, etc

Also called (Brit): swivel pin a pivot pin that provides a steering joint in a motor vehicle by securing the stub axle to the axle beam

tenpin bowling the front pin in the triangular arrangement of the ten pins

(in ninepins) the central pin in the diamond pattern of the nine pins